


Vertically Challenged

by hopeassassin



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Not even a shippy thing, just something cute for AoMomo week that I wrote back in the day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 05:04:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13159854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeassassin/pseuds/hopeassassin
Summary: Girls often hit their growth spurts before boys. At least in the generic case, they usually did. Knowing it doesn’t mean Daiki approves of the fact Satsuki is a good head taller than him for a rather long stretch of time.





	Vertically Challenged

**Author's Note:**

> So um, to anyone who knows [this picture](http://hopeassassin.tumblr.com/post/48350999103/x), this piece was obviously inspired by it. And also [this one](http://aoimine.tumblr.com/post/78663350583/kaizoku-niiichan-%E3%82%B9%E3%83%91%E3%82%B3%E3%83%9F%E7%84%A1%E9%85%8D%E3%83%9D%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AB%E9%9D%92%E6%A1%83-by-%E3%81%8A%E3%81%8B%E3%81%A0). I also threw in all the little bits of information Fujimaki has delivered about these two’s past: the stuff about frequently going to the mountains, playing older boys on the court to get better, etc. xD;
> 
> There is no point to this story.

Everyone knows that most girls hit their growth spurts generally earlier than most boys.

 

At least, in a large number of the cases, that was what happened.

 

Therefore it should come as no surprise that there was a time—rather elongated window of it—during which Satsuki was almost a whole head taller than Daiki when they were kids.

 

And that fact didn’t sit well with him.

 

It didn’t sit well with him a _t all_.

 

Sometimes, Satsuki even wondered if he didn’t first try out basketball simply for the fact he knew it was a sport that would potentiate his vertical growth.

 

Of course, it was his talent and passion for the game that turned him into the miracle he subsequently ended up being.

 

However, for the longest time she liked entertaining the thought that he gave it a chance to appeal to him because he wanted to use any and all means necessary to get himself to grow taller than her.

 

And speaking of any and all means, she knew for a fact about a few of them—observant little girl that she was.

 

She noticed that he started drinking all his milk religiously. He never again griped against any of the vegetables her mother put in his plate and insisted he finish all off before going out to play. He never stayed up late after his mother insisted that the time had passed by which he should be in bed.

 

Even if he had argued with it, upon his mom pointing out that he needed sleep if he wanted to grow, he never again made a peep against her insistence he go to sleep when she said so.

 

Satsuki was also quite certain of what he wished for during every temple visit in those few years in their early days.

 

To sum up, things had taken rather ridiculous proportions.

 

What was just as ridiculous was that he handled the fact his measures yielded no satisfying results unwell.

 

He was pouty and sour every time they needed to walk side by side.

 

Which would be at least twice a day at the bare minimum.

 

And they never stuck to the bare minimum, since they were as good as attached at the hip, so to say.

 

Predictably, being a child and not very good at controlling his temper, this led Daiki to having frequent emotional outbursts misdirected at his best friend.

 

“Give it a rest already, totem pole!” he’d grouch irately when she kept nagging him about things.

 

She had to admit that sometimes he did have a knack for coming up with creative names to call her.

 

Although it had annoyed her to no end back then, looking back on it years later, she couldn’t help giggling at his antics.

 

All in all, a height complex-driven Dai-chan was a rather hard to deal with Dai-chan.

 

But if you asked her if she wished she’d never grown taller than him to begin with, she wouldn’t pause for a second before giving her resounding no.

 

Sure, it had been a bit aggravating to handle, but the sense of accomplishment it brought to her when she stood in front of him and had to look down to meet his eye as she delivered her witty response to his taunts—it was a feeling she wouldn’t give up for the world.

 

Of course, Daiki’s vertically challenged phase was exactly that – a phase. Both his parents were tall people, so it was in his genes that he’d eventually grow taller as well.

 

She’d never forget the end of the summer of one of their last years of elementary school. After their annual trip to the mountains, they were on their way to school with their usual outfits and backpacks slung over their shoulders, trudging slowly towards their school building.

 

She’d been saying something to him—something inconsequential, for sure, because she couldn’t recall what it was even weeks later—when she’d turned to him.

 

And she’d immediately noticed.

 

His shoulder was perfectly aligned with hers as he stood by her side.

 

Her eyes widened.

 

“Dai-chan, you—” she started, but never finished when he turned his head to deign her with a questioning look.

 

She noticed that even if it registered with him—the difference—it wasn’t on a conscious level.

 

Not  _yet_ , at least.

 

Nevertheless, he was no longer perpetually aggravated.

 

But other than that he was simply laidback and rather chill about everything.

 

Maybe she had their mountain hiking summer to thank for that. After all, he’d poured such an astounding amount of energy into that, she was surprised he still had enough left over to properly function.

 

“What?” he prompted, pulling her out of her pensive trance. His tone was clipped as his patience with her taking her sweet time articulating her thoughts.

 

She smiled broadly, shaking her head. The movement ruffled the long tresses of pink hair that reached down just past her shoulders.

 

“Never mind. It’s nothing important,” she said dismissively. Daiki gave her a wry look, shrugging his shoulders the next moment.

 

“Let’s hurry up; I promised a senpai from the middle school section that I’ll play him in the lunch break!” Daiki urged her, an excited twinkle in his eye at the reminder.

 

Satsuki eyed him oddly.

 

“It’s not even proper morning yet, and you’re already thinking about lunch break?” she admonished, shaking her head in disdain. “You basketball idiot…”

 

Daiki didn’t rise to her taunt. He simply grinned a toothy grin that revealed his missing lower canine. It made his smile somewhat more endearing in how dorky it came across.

 

She gave him a lopsided smile of her own, sighing in defeat.

 

As expected, by next summer, the tables had been turned on her.

 

Now, Daiki was the one half a head taller than her.

 

And he made sure to rub it in every chance he got.

 

“What was that? I can’t hear you very well from up here. Can you repeat that, maybe a bit louder?” he’d say with a shit eating grin splitting his face.

 

She’d scowl and yank him by the ear to get him to come off it, or she really would shout until his wars were ringing.

 

But even though he was a pain in the ass—and she never failed to tell him so exactly—she never did begrudge him his complacency.

 

She was also well aware that basketball, his penchant for it, his brimming talent for the sport and everything it meant to him, meant that he would continue growing taller. In a couple of years, she was sure he would tower above her.

 

And, frankly, she didn’t mind that.

 

Thanks to his love for basketball, and owing to her long-standing friendship with him, she’d pretty much grown up around tall, older boys.

 

So, in her mind, part of what made boys appealing was the fact they were larger, looking at the world from a higher vantage point than hers. Boys pretty much equaled height.

 

She couldn’t take seriously a boy that wasn’t taller than her. She most certainly would never consider dating a boy shorter than her.

 

… Not that she had intentions of dating Daiki. Or getting in any kind of romantic involvement with him. That’s not what she meant at all.

 

She was  _just saying_ , you know.

**Author's Note:**

> 3 years later, I post this on AO3. 
> 
> Oh, well. Better late than never, yeah? :D
> 
> Decided to post some things to the Archive while I struggle with my latest creation.


End file.
